These colored postcards from the sunny streets of Tunisia were created using photochromy technology, in which monochrome images are given realistic colors and shades. This technology is the predecessor of color photography.
Photochromy (color lithography) was invented by a Swiss publisher in the 1880s. The process began with coating a plate made of lithographic limestone with a photosensitive emulsion. Then it was exposed to the sun under a photonegative for several hours. The emulsion solidified in proportion to the shades of the image. The softer fragments of the emulsion were removed with a solvent, and the image remained on the lithographic stone.
The photographer carefully outlined the features of the colors in the photo. According to his notes, separate lithographic stones were prepared for each color in the final version of the image. Often there were more than a dozen lithographic stones per postcard. As a result of a complex and delicate process, incredibly colorful images were obtained with much greater accuracy than in an ordinary colorized photo.
We offer you a look at the exquisite palaces and lively markets of Tunisia in the first decade of the French protectorate.
Souk El-Truk Bazaar in Tunisia.
A street in Kairouan.
Local residents of Tunisia.
St. Louis Cathedral in Carthage.
Private living room, Qasr El Said.
The bedroom of the late Bey of Tunis, Qasr El Said, Tunisia.
View of Kairouan from the minaret of the Grand Mosque.